


Day 24 - Passing the Torch

by moonblossom



Series: Pre-Nickels Nickels 30 Day Challenge [24]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Coming Out, Confessions, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 14:58:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2511821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/pseuds/moonblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kelly's here for Nick, whatever he needs.</p><p>
  <a href="http://wintergrey.dreamwidth.org/15168.html">Day 24: An Old Flame</a>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 24 - Passing the Torch

Kelly was trying his damnedest not to worry about Nick or Owen. Owen had stalked off after Ty's confession and nobody had seen him since, and as far as Kelly knew, Nick was still with Ty. He chewed on his lip, getting up and staring out the hotel room window for the sixth time.

"Relax, Doc. They'll both be back soon," Digger said, but the tension in his voice betrayed him. Kelly knew he was itching to go after one or both of them as well, but they were all adults and Kelly honestly wasn't familiar enough with Baltimore to even know where to start looking.

It was just that with all the shit Ty and Zane had been going through, the tension and the riots and the bombs in the city... He huffed and threw himself into the chair, trying to clear his mind. Digger sat on the king-sized bed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at Kelly.

"They're tough shits, the both of them. Take a deep breath, Abbott," Digger said gently. His lilting accent was comforting.

They were both startled by the click of a key-card in the lock. Nick stumbled into the room, looking harried and distraught. Without thinking, Kelly jumped out of the chair and started moving towards him. Nick held a hand up, gesturing for Kelly to stay away. The motion hurt in ways Kelly couldn't begin to describe, but he stayed put. Clearly Nick needed space.

"Is Owen here?" He looked around, his eyes wild and slightly manic. Kelly shook his head.

"Thank Christ," Nick muttered, still standing awkwardly in the alcove at the entrance to the room. "I..." He took a deep breath. "What Ty did today..." He ran a hand over his face, tugging on his lip. Kelly could tell he was nervous, and his stomach sank. Was he having some delayed reaction to Ty's coming out?

"He's..." Nick stared at the ceiling and straightened his shoulders. "Well, he's not alone, alright? I should have said something at dinner, shouldn't have left him alone."

Kelly sat on the edge of the bed. His legs felt strange, heavy and tingling all at once like he'd been sitting cross-legged for too long. He hadn't had this sort of reaction to Ty's confession, so why was Nick's making him feel so strange? He was about to ask Nick to clarify when Digger spared him the trouble.

"So, you're gay?"

Nick shrugged. "I consider myself equal opportunity. We cool?"

Digger stood up before Kelly had fully processed what was happening. He wrapped Nick in his beefy arms and hugged him, and Nick made an undignified squeak. Kelly couldn't contain the nervous laughter that bubbled up at the noise.

"I'm glad you're back, Nick. Now I'm going to bed. Whenever Owen gets in, I'll thump him for you."

Nick laughed nervously and nodded, closing the adjoining door behind Digger as he left.

With just the two of them in the room, the air felt charged, like static running over Kelly's arms. He still had no idea why he was reacting to Nick's news like this. It wasn't that it bothered him; it was almost the opposite. When Ty had come out, Kelly had admittedly been curious about some things, but he assumed that was just a normal reaction. With Nick, though...

Every time Kelly closed his eyes, the image of Nick crowding some nondescript guy in a shadowy alley assaulted him. His heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't worried Nick would come onto him, he knew his best friend would never make unwelcome advances on anyone, man or woman. It was almost as if Kelly... wanted him to? But that couldn't be right.

"I kissed Ty," Nick blurted out, knocking Kelly out of his train of thought. Suddenly the faceless dude from Kelly's imaginings fell into sharp focus, and all he could think of was the two of them, feverish and grappling in the dark. His heart beat faster. Abruptly, the image was shattered by another face.

"What about Zane?!" Admittedly, he hadn't really made much of an impression on Kelly when they'd met earlier, but he was going through a lot of shit. Clearly Ty loved him. What had Nick been thinking?!

"I know, Kels, I know. Don't look at me like that. It was stupid. I was drunk, but that's not an excuse." Nick started pacing again, tight lines of stress around his eyes and mouth. 

"We can talk about Ty later," Kelly found himself saying. "Right now, I think you need to talk about _you_." Kelly needed to focus on something, anything, other than the overwhelming thought of two of his oldest friends tongue-wrestling. He shifted on the bed and groaned, trying to clear his mind again. He could feel his heart thrumming from his chest all the way down to his groin, and if is this kept up he knew he'd be well on his way to a thoroughly confusing and utterly inappropriate hard-on.

He turned his back to Nick, stripped down to his undershirt and boxers, and got into bed, his head swimming with all sorts of new and overwhelming information.

"Doc..." Nick hovered awkwardly, shifting back and forth at the foot of the bed. "If you need me to crash in the tub or something tonight, I get it." He ran a hand through his hair, fingers getting tangled in the loose curls.

Kelly sat up and leaned against the headboard, frowning slightly. "I'm hurt, Nick. Do you think I'm that much of a jerk?" The idea of Nick dealing with this alone, hiding in the bathroom, was almost too painful to bear. The idea that Nick thought Kelly would freak out was somehow worse.

Nick's face was red. He shifted over towards the bed, but made no move to sit. Kelly glowered at him and pointed at the empty half of the bed. "You get your sorry ass over here before I make you."

The look of relief on Nick's face was heartbreaking. "It's just... Owen..." He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed facing away from Kelly, still clearly hesitant about lying down.

Kelly reached over and patted his back. "He'll come around. He's just confused right now. I'm not forgiving his bullshit, but he loves you both. Give him a couple of days."

Nick slumped over onto the bed. Kelly frowned at him and pointed at his feet. Sheepishly, Nick kicked off his shoes.

"You're really okay with this?"

Kelly wasn't sure if he'd ever heard Nick so hesitant. Normally he was all competence and confidence, sure of himself or bullshitting through it if he wasn't. This sudden, flayed-open vulnerability was pushing buttons Kelly didn't even know he'd had. He wanted to wrap Nick up in his arms, protect him from everything that was making him hurt.

Instead, he decided to try to lighten the mood a little bit.

"So... Ty? Really?" He chuckled. "He does have a pretty great ass."

Nick snorted out a startled laugh. "Oh my god, Kels. Can you not right now?"

"What? I can appreciate an ass when I see it!"

Clearly this had been the right direction to steer the conversation in. Kelly could feel the relief coming off Nick in waves as he stripped down to his shorts. "You... need me to put some pyjamas on?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "Do you even _have_ pyjamas with you?"

Sheepishly, Nick dug a threadbare pair of Red Sox bottoms out of his bag. Kelly laughed.

"If it'll make you feel better, put them on. Fucking Sox."

Nick grinned at him, clearly relieved that Kelly was taking this all in stride.

Kelly, for his part, found himself mesmerised by the shift and pull of scars, ink, and freckles across Nick's back as he changed. He'd never stopped to consider Nick's body like this before. What did it mean that he was doing it now?

Once he was changed, Nick slid under the covers and lay on his back, arms crossed behind his head. Unthinkingly, Kelly mirrored his pose. The two of them both stared up at the ceiling in silence for a few minutes, before Kelly blurted out "That is fucking gross, dude."

He felt Nick stiffen beside him. Quickly, Kelly shook his head and pointed at a large water stain on the ceiling, and he felt Nick chuckle next to him.

"So, yeah, Ty," were the next words out of Nick's mouth. Kelly was a little thrown by the non-sequitur, but he let Nick talk. "I think I've always been kind of in love with the _idea_ of him. I needed..." He sighed before continuing. "I needed to say goodbye to that tonight."

"So you're not going to chase him, try to drive Zane off? I don't get to live on the sidelines of some torrid gay soap opera?" Kelly said, laughter in his voice. 

"'Fraid not."

"Damn," Kelly said, his voice soft and quiet. He was still itching to reach out and touch Nick, but he knew he'd be rebuffed right now. He wasn't sure why it was so important to him.

"What's on your mind, babe?" Nick asked. "I can hear you thinking."

Kelly shrugged, arms still pinned behind his head. "It's just... a lot to take in for one night, you know? But at the same time it's no big deal."

Nick reached out and patted his head. "Thank you for being okay with this, Kels."

"I'd be a pretty shitty friend if I wasn't."

"Yeah, well..." Nick's voice was heavy, and Kelly knew they were both worrying about Owen.

"He'll sort himself out." Kelly said, forcing himself to sound more certain than he felt.

"Yeah," Nick agreed, and he sounded a bit more relaxed. "Now c'mon, let's get some sleep."

Kelly smiled, leaning over to turn the light off. "Fine, but I get to be the big spoon."

"Doc, you always end up being the big spoon. I think you're over-compensating for your height or something."

Kelly reached out without thinking, smacking Nick in the chest, just like he would have done before. Nick laughed, curling up on his side.

"Thanks again, Kelly."


End file.
